Transitioning to a New Aircraft
12/27/2011
Posted in
Flight Training
Tags: aircraft transition, dutch rolls, slow flight, stalls, take offs, landings
What’s the first thing you do when transitioning to a new aircraft that you have not yet flown? What should be your first consideration? What is the safest way to make this transition?
Transitioning to a New Aircraft
By: Jacob Kasprzyk (Gold Seal CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP)
I recently saw poll results from an AOPA study indicating that the majority of pilots will spend their initial hours of acclamation doing take-offs and landings!
As an instructor I immediately became concerned with this practice by the majority of pilots who answered the poll. Takeoffs and Landings are arguably the most dangerous phases of flight. Without proper training and time in the aircraft it only makes it more dangerous. I thought I would take a minute and outline what I think is a great way to become familiar with your new aircraft.
First: Read the Pilot’s Operating Handbook
Read your POH for the aircraft! Your instructor told you to do this. I’m telling you to do it. You really should do it! If you do not have a copy, remember that the aircraft is required to have an Operating Handbook in the cockpit at all times and you should be able to easily find a copy there. As a pilot you know that your POH is full of important information such as Vspeeds, operating limitations, and procedures specific to that aircraft. I don’t think it is wise to fly any aircraft, familiar or not, without knowing those items. Read your POH!
Second: Chair Fly
Sit yourself down in the cockpit and begin to familiarize yourself with the location of the aircraft’s controls. It’s a great idea to run through a number of procedures while the aircraft is still safely on the ground without the engine running! Aircraft will often have different positions for things like the landing gear switch, flap switch, circuit breakers, Push to Talk buttons, radios, etc as the list goes on. These are normal use items. What about emergency items? What is your emergency gear extension procedure? Where is your alternate static air toggle located? Pitot/Prop Heat? What will you do in the event of an engine failure on takeoff? Not a bad idea to review these sorts of scenarios ahead of time.
Third: Find Someone with Make/Model Specific Experience
The best answer is to take a professional instructor up with you the first time. This instructor should have ample time in that make/model aircraft and must be familiar and knowledgeable in its procedures and limitations. You can use our exclusive Rental Plane Finder for finding a local flight school that operates the type of aircraft you are looking for.
If you can’t find an instructor locally, then maybe you know someone personally who has experience (perhaps the person who owns the aircraft you are about to fly?) If you are purchasing the aircraft for yourself then the vast majority of dealers and manufacturers will make sure you get the training you need with your new purchase. Just talk to your sales representative and they can steer you in the right direction.
Fourth: Dutch Rolls
Dutch rolls are in my professional opinion an excellent way to quickly get a feel for your aircraft’s required rudder input and are a great first maneuver in a new aircraft. Why is figuring out your rudder input the first flight maneuver in a new aircraft? This is because being uncoordinated (improper rudder use) is one of the leading causes of fatal aircraft accidents during the Take-Off and Landing phases of flight. This is because being uncoordinated in a stall will likely result in a spin as we should all know. Spins close to the ground during climb-out or during that base-to-final turn are extremely difficult to recover from safely! Your best bet is to avoid the situation all together. Prevention is the key!
So how to do a Dutch roll? This is actually a very simple maneuver that involves mostly just rocking your wings and applying rudder.
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Pick a suitable visual reference ahead of the nose of the aircraft.
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Clear the area and perform all appropriate pre-maneuver checks.
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Rock the wings back and forth with no rudder input while trying to maintain your longitudinal axis rotating about your reference point. Observe the adverse yaw.
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Apply rudder pressure while trying to maintain your longitudinal axis about the visual reference point. You will quickly see the benefit of rudder and will quickly learn how much rudder input is needed to safely maneuver that specific aircraft in coordinated flight.
Try this maneuver on your next flight.
Fifth: Slow Flight/ Stalls (Power On/Off)
Slow Flight is an often under appreciated maneuver. This maneuver is invaluable when learning how the aircraft will handle during the initial take-off phase and the final landing phase of flight. Think back to your initial training. Did you train for slow flight or focus on landings first? The reason why we’re taught slow flight is so that we can transfer that learning and correlate it to the traffic pattern operations. Knowing how your aircraft will handle during the flare or while in ground effect is in my opinion a major safety issue!
Power-On stalls are taught to simulate the conditions of a stall during take-off and should be practiced in every new aircraft. This maneuver will help you learn the typical pitch angle that will induce a power-on stall after take-off, the turning tendencies of the aircraft (high torque and P-Factor), as well as the stall and recovery characteristics themselves.
Power-Off stalls are taught to simulate the conditions of a stall during final approach to land in the landing configuration. It’s a great idea to know how your aircraft will perform prior to being in this scenario for real.
Sixth: Take-offs and Landings
Last, but certainly not the least, is to practice take-offs and landings. I admit that the majority of your acclamation time to the new aircraft should be spent here training. However, it is the last phase of flight that you should focus on. To safely practice take-offs and landings (especially if there is no instructor onboard) a basic understanding of the aircraft’s flight characteristics must be established first. Most aircraft fly very similar, but remember that no aircraft flies exactly the same.
In Conclusion:
It is important that a thorough understanding of the aircrafts systems, limitations, and procedures be developed prior to operating the aircraft in a high workload and demanding environment such as departing or arriving to an airport. It is important for safety that we take this approach to flying and we as pilots continue to give the aircraft and flying the respect that it deserves.